From the corner, in his burgundy travelling cloak, Vartran the Disciple, joins in the conversation, "Speaking of patriotism Hadrian, I don't think I ever learned where are the lands that you call home?"
"We have been through some pretty heroic adventures in the past, but I am not sure I know how you get yourself into these jobs. You have always seemed to be more of an independent agent in these matters"...
Vartran continues, "me, I am in it for the gold at this point. Spending the winter and spring in Kessid put quite a tax on my limited funds. And, I have to figure out what the path ahead of me will bring. I find myself at quite a crossroads, without a clear direction, so I thought a good journey with Sir Reggie and other old friends might help me find my way again..."
Hadrian smiles amusedly at Antilla's fine manners. "Oh, we'll avoid Lindora, my lady, or Urth, or whatever they're calling that graveyard these days," Hadrian assures her, "I just don't think the undead hordes will stop at the border. They're horrible at reading maps, you see. Almost as bad as women." Hadrian flashes a conspiratorial wink at Faydin at that last comment, then immediately says (in an obvious attempt to cut off whatever retort Antilla might have), "And speaking of maps..." and here Hadrian pivots in his chair to face Vartran (which coincidentally has him facing away from Antilla), "The reason that you have never learned of my homeland is simple, friend Vartran -- I call no land my home. I have seen too many countries to favor just one. And I hate the idea of having to defend some piece of land at King or Council's request just because of some lines drawn on a map."
Hadrian taps a finger against his lips as a thought occurs to him, "It's funny you mention 'good journeys' and 'Sir Reggie' in the same breath, though. The last time we three were together, the skies turned red." And speaking of the red skies, Vartran would take notice of the red arm bracer on Hadrian's left wrist which he had never seen him with before, and yet its scaled material is something he would recognize at once. "You found religion on that day, didn't you? Perhaps good fortune will be yours again, then, and you can pledge your devotion to this new horror unleashed on our land, as you did the last."
Antillia waves off the 'my lady' and insists they call her 'Tilly'. This is a very common response for her. Her hazel eyes roll at the 'women' comment which she waves off with a 'pah' in good natured humor.
"Oh I remember that," she says in agreement to the mention of red skies. "My auntie, that is to say Scarlettina's mother, and I got into a horrible row over which one of us would take the family seat in the Council to debate the omen. We ended up with her in the chair and I sitting on the floor beside it. Our view isn't very good but we could hear everything perfectly."
For Hadrien's sake she adds, "Did you hear about the dragon we saw over Kessid? Reginald seems to think it was bigger than the ones he's seen before."
At Tilly's mention of the word 'dragon,' Hadrian turns to her, the color gone out of his sober face, eyes wide. "Pardon?" is all he says, slack-mouthed and shocked, waiting for her reply.
"I'll take that as a no," the noblewoman says sweetly, all smiles. "It was circling above us. Near the bay. I think it was looking for something?" She turns to Vartran, the unofficial/official expert on all things dragony.
Vartran chimes in again, "Ah, the dragon over Kessid... It certainly was a wonderful thing to see soaring the skies. I never did figure out much about what was happening there. The city watch of Kessid was quite frightened about the dragon attacking the city, which it didn't. I wasn't able to figure out if it was what I would call a "Dragon of the Covenant", or if it was being controlled by another entity, which would be bad... I was quite concerned since the Vorakian Armory (Vartran mocks spitting on the floor) decided it was time to go hunting the dragon. Apparently, they were never heard from again. I can't say that I will miss them. Although I do wonder what became of Lady Lillyvon..."
"I think I would have been worried as well if I had seen a dragon flying over my home, the tales some of my people tell are absolutely horrendious," Faydin interjected as he shifted yet another crystal as well as a candle this time then looked back up at the men, "To my knowledge, I had thought all the dragons had been banished or some such."
The young elf sighed; maybe he had gotten himself into too much trouble, he hoped that Grandmother Yliriel would be able to use whatever information he found out on his excursion. And if dragons were to be in this, well he was certainly going to be very, very well hidden. The young magician knew nothing useful about the flying beasts, well some liked riddles as did he. He pondered for a bit thinking that maybe he could befriend whatever horrid dragon by riddling with him. Then something Vartran had said echoed in his mind. He had said he didn't know if the dragon was of the covenant, what in all the ancestors' most archaic knowledge was that? Looking rather confused he asked Vartran,"What, in all of the blessed names of the Fae, are the Dragons of the Covenant?"
Vartran listens on, and you see a wide range of emotions cross his face. He seems as if to interrupt Faydin several times, and catches himself as if before saying something he would regret. Then he says it anyway..."Young Faydin, have you been studying so intently that you missed the casting of the Red Sky spells a 2nd time? Or have you been working with Sir Reggie as a sparring partner, perhaps without a helmet? Or maybe you rode the "small wagon" to your classes with the other elves? Surely it is well known by the elves that Dragons have indeed returned, for several years now, though it is certainly still a rare sight indeed to see them. Have you never asked what separates Elves and Humans? Or Dwarves and Humans for that matter? The Covenant with the Elder Gods, blessed be their names. The same covenant that guides some but not all of the Dragon kind."
After that, Vartran digs into his large basket, rummaging for something, and muttering aloud. He finds a red leather bound book, presses it to his forehead, in a reverent manner, and hands it to Faydin. "Here, perhaps you can give this a quick read, and get up to speed on this information about Dragons. Several of the people in this party have first hand experience with dragons." With that, he takes his left hand glove off, to reveal the obviously acid burned scars he carries from his encounter with Abydon. "See, you don't want to go into a battle with dragons unprepared... We had almost 2 dozen fighters and mages, including Elves of the Black Rose, and we still only barely managed to subdue him, and he was only an infant. Such a waste that he was controlled by evil doers. Such a waste. I made sure to bathe my arm in his blood as a permanent reminder of their beauty and power." Vartran stares away as if into a void...
"We have been through some pretty heroic adventures in the past, but I am not sure I know how you get yourself into these jobs. You have always seemed to be more of an independent agent in these matters"...
Vartran continues, "me, I am in it for the gold at this point. Spending the winter and spring in Kessid put quite a tax on my limited funds. And, I have to figure out what the path ahead of me will bring. I find myself at quite a crossroads, without a clear direction, so I thought a good journey with Sir Reggie and other old friends might help me find my way again..."
Hadrian smiles amusedly at Antilla's fine manners. "Oh, we'll avoid Lindora, my lady, or Urth, or whatever they're calling that graveyard these days," Hadrian assures her, "I just don't think the undead hordes will stop at the border. They're horrible at reading maps, you see. Almost as bad as women." Hadrian flashes a conspiratorial wink at Faydin at that last comment, then immediately says (in an obvious attempt to cut off whatever retort Antilla might have), "And speaking of maps..." and here Hadrian pivots in his chair to face Vartran (which coincidentally has him facing away from Antilla), "The reason that you have never learned of my homeland is simple, friend Vartran -- I call no land my home. I have seen too many countries to favor just one. And I hate the idea of having to defend some piece of land at King or Council's request just because of some lines drawn on a map."
Hadrian taps a finger against his lips as a thought occurs to him, "It's funny you mention 'good journeys' and 'Sir Reggie' in the same breath, though. The last time we three were together, the skies turned red." And speaking of the red skies, Vartran would take notice of the red arm bracer on Hadrian's left wrist which he had never seen him with before, and yet its scaled material is something he would recognize at once. "You found religion on that day, didn't you? Perhaps good fortune will be yours again, then, and you can pledge your devotion to this new horror unleashed on our land, as you did the last."
Antillia waves off the 'my lady' and insists they call her 'Tilly'. This is a very common response for her. Her hazel eyes roll at the 'women' comment which she waves off with a 'pah' in good natured humor.
"Oh I remember that," she says in agreement to the mention of red skies. "My auntie, that is to say Scarlettina's mother, and I got into a horrible row over which one of us would take the family seat in the Council to debate the omen. We ended up with her in the chair and I sitting on the floor beside it. Our view isn't very good but we could hear everything perfectly."
For Hadrien's sake she adds, "Did you hear about the dragon we saw over Kessid? Reginald seems to think it was bigger than the ones he's seen before."
At Tilly's mention of the word 'dragon,' Hadrian turns to her, the color gone out of his sober face, eyes wide. "Pardon?" is all he says, slack-mouthed and shocked, waiting for her reply.
"I'll take that as a no," the noblewoman says sweetly, all smiles. "It was circling above us. Near the bay. I think it was looking for something?" She turns to Vartran, the unofficial/official expert on all things dragony.
Vartran chimes in again, "Ah, the dragon over Kessid... It certainly was a wonderful thing to see soaring the skies. I never did figure out much about what was happening there. The city watch of Kessid was quite frightened about the dragon attacking the city, which it didn't. I wasn't able to figure out if it was what I would call a "Dragon of the Covenant", or if it was being controlled by another entity, which would be bad... I was quite concerned since the Vorakian Armory (Vartran mocks spitting on the floor) decided it was time to go hunting the dragon. Apparently, they were never heard from again. I can't say that I will miss them. Although I do wonder what became of Lady Lillyvon..."
"I think I would have been worried as well if I had seen a dragon flying over my home, the tales some of my people tell are absolutely horrendious," Faydin interjected as he shifted yet another crystal as well as a candle this time then looked back up at the men, "To my knowledge, I had thought all the dragons had been banished or some such."
The young elf sighed; maybe he had gotten himself into too much trouble, he hoped that Grandmother Yliriel would be able to use whatever information he found out on his excursion. And if dragons were to be in this, well he was certainly going to be very, very well hidden. The young magician knew nothing useful about the flying beasts, well some liked riddles as did he. He pondered for a bit thinking that maybe he could befriend whatever horrid dragon by riddling with him. Then something Vartran had said echoed in his mind. He had said he didn't know if the dragon was of the covenant, what in all the ancestors' most archaic knowledge was that? Looking rather confused he asked Vartran,"What, in all of the blessed names of the Fae, are the Dragons of the Covenant?"
Vartran listens on, and you see a wide range of emotions cross his face. He seems as if to interrupt Faydin several times, and catches himself as if before saying something he would regret. Then he says it anyway..."Young Faydin, have you been studying so intently that you missed the casting of the Red Sky spells a 2nd time? Or have you been working with Sir Reggie as a sparring partner, perhaps without a helmet? Or maybe you rode the "small wagon" to your classes with the other elves? Surely it is well known by the elves that Dragons have indeed returned, for several years now, though it is certainly still a rare sight indeed to see them. Have you never asked what separates Elves and Humans? Or Dwarves and Humans for that matter? The Covenant with the Elder Gods, blessed be their names. The same covenant that guides some but not all of the Dragon kind."
After that, Vartran digs into his large basket, rummaging for something, and muttering aloud. He finds a red leather bound book, presses it to his forehead, in a reverent manner, and hands it to Faydin. "Here, perhaps you can give this a quick read, and get up to speed on this information about Dragons. Several of the people in this party have first hand experience with dragons." With that, he takes his left hand glove off, to reveal the obviously acid burned scars he carries from his encounter with Abydon. "See, you don't want to go into a battle with dragons unprepared... We had almost 2 dozen fighters and mages, including Elves of the Black Rose, and we still only barely managed to subdue him, and he was only an infant. Such a waste that he was controlled by evil doers. Such a waste. I made sure to bathe my arm in his blood as a permanent reminder of their beauty and power." Vartran stares away as if into a void...
Cont'd
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